78 Chapter 78
◎Use the beauty trap◎
After struggling for half a day, Wei Zheng was no longer able to continue.
He asked Xie Mingzhuo to resign. Although he had no complaints, there was a hint of loss in his eyes, which, combined with his handsome face, made people feel unbearable for no reason.
Xie Mingzhuo restrained his arrogance and asked, "What's your name?"
"My name is Wei Zheng, the third son of the Wei family, the Earl of Xuanping. My name is Wei Zheng, and I am named after him."
"Oh, you're not bad," Xie Mingzhuo said, as if offering alms. "You'll be allowed to stay by my side tomorrow."
Wei Zheng was overjoyed and kowtowed to express his gratitude.
What a twist of fate! All the efforts just now were not in vain, and the princess finally saw him.
On the way back, he put his arm around Lu Er's shoulders and asked mysteriously, "Lu Er, how did you win the princess's favor? Can you teach me?"
Lu Fang shook his hand off. They weren't even familiar with each other, so why should they act so intimately?
"I have no idea."
"How could you not know?" Wei Zheng pleaded bitterly. "Lu Er, good brother, please teach me some tricks. I consider myself quite likable, but today the princess truly frustrated me."
Lu Fang thought about it carefully and said, "Maybe it's because you don't have any special skills."
“…”
"The princess values talent," he said sheepishly. "Even someone like me who only knows how to raise pigs is valued by her."
Wei Zheng didn't say anything for a long time.
It wasn't until he reached the door of his residence that he mustered up the courage to ask, "Isn't it a skill to please girls?"
"...Forget it." Lu Fang blinked, finally understanding his intentions. He tilted his head and asked, "You and I don't usually interact much. You specifically asked me to come along today. It's not that your friend isn't here, as you said, but you wanted to use my favor to get closer to the princess?"
Wei Zheng: You're so arrogant! What do you mean by borrowing your face? How much face can a pig farmer like you have? Isn't it because the Lu family is in favor right now?
He smiled shyly, "You figured it out? Ever since I heard the princess shoot a tiger in the palace, I've been attracted to her, but I've always had no chance. This autumn hunt is a rare opportunity, and I was worried she wouldn't recognize me and would scold me for being offensive, so I came up with this idea. Please don't be offended."
"Admiration?" Lu Fang was surprised. "You want to be my consort?"
Wei Zheng was not the eldest son of the Earl's family, so the title would not be bestowed upon him. He himself had no talent and could not enter the officialdom through the imperial examination. Marrying the princess was indeed a shortcut to success.
Can……
"What? I'm not suitable?" Wei Zheng felt offended by his gaze.
Lu Fang replied sincerely: "It's not unsuitable, but unworthy."
“…”
No matter how good his temper was, he couldn't withstand Lu Er's repeated attacks. Wei Zheng could barely hold back a smile on his face. He bowed to him, said goodbye, and turned to leave.
Lu Fang returned to the house.
His father was in charge of the palace's security and hadn't returned yet, so his mother was the only one practicing martial arts in the yard.
"I just saw you talking to someone outside the door. Who was it?" Liu Ying stood up and wiped his temples and neck with a sweat towel.
She knew that her son was usually taciturn, but whenever he spoke, he liked to poke people in the heart, so he had few friends.
Lu Fang read from a book and replied casually, "The third son of the Xuanping Earl family."
"Him?" Liu Ying was puzzled. "Why are you associated with him?"
"He's the one who's paying for me." He said it concisely.
Liu Ying: “…”
Fortunately, I wasn't drinking water, otherwise I would have choked to death.
"What did he ask you to do?"
"To meet the princess, he wants to be her husband."
Liu Ying was speechless again. She stepped forward, grabbed his ear, and said angrily, "Speak nicely to me. Why did he come to you if he wanted to be a consort?"
"He said he was lending me face, but he was afraid the princess wouldn't recognize him and would kick him out," Lu Fang half stood up and covered his ears. "I didn't think he was worthy, so he left."
Liu Ying let him go and said with satisfaction, "You did say something sensible."
The third son of the Marquis of Xuanping was handsome and friendly, and had a very good reputation among the nobles. Especially in the eyes of the noble ladies with daughters, he was a very good candidate for son-in-law.
Liu Ying had no daughter and didn't pay much attention to him, but she often heard rumors about him at ladies' gatherings.
Many rich ladies in the capital were in love with him. Although Wei Zheng had always been a man of integrity, Liu Ying felt that he was not a good match, let alone a prince consort.
Anyway, in her eyes, no one is worthy of Princess Rong'an!
But this guy is indeed very popular among girls. If Princess Rong'an was deceived by his appearance, wouldn't it be a pity?
No, she had to find a chance to remind the princess.
The main hall of the palace.
Xie Mingzhuo leaned on the chaise longue and read the memorial, while Yang Yunkai presented the intelligence beside him.
Ku Ding in the imperial prison was a tough guy. No matter how he was interrogated, he insisted that he did it for money and sold the drawings to the Goryeo delegation.
The Sichuan Embroidered Uniform Guard responded, saying that there were no unusual movements in Sichuan.
Xie Mingzhuo was not very satisfied with these two pieces of information, but she remained calm. After flipping through one of the reports, she smiled and said:
"The Armoury is heavily guarded, yet a mere Kuding was able to steal blueprints and firearms and transport them away quietly. I don't believe he has such a great ability."
Yang Yunkai understood and said, "Then let him go fishing?"
"What kind of fish are you fishing for?" Xie Mingzhuo said nonchalantly. "Take this opportunity to clean up the officials of the Military Equipment Bureau."
Those who should be punished should be punished. She has no time to play hide-and-seek with the mouse in the dark.
The careful planning during the investigation of the Liang Wang case has long become a thing of the past.
"It would be best if there were no unusual movements in Sichuan. If there were any..."
Yang Yunkai immediately half-knelt on the ground: "Your humble servant will immediately initiate the self-inspection procedure."
"Well, go down."
Yang Yunkai retreated respectfully, and not long after, Xie Mingshuo walked into the hall holding up his clothes.
Why are these two always one after the other?
"The paddocks aren't as fun as I thought," Xie Mingshuo plopped down next to her. "Dad's dragging everyone out to play chess again, and Mother and Big Brother are buried in calculating some formulas. It's giving me a headache. Only you seem normal here."
Xie Mingzhuo said with a smile: "Why don't you go and chat with those young masters about gossip?"
"What kind of gossip could they have?" Xie Mingshuo suddenly paused, quipping with a sidelong glance, "But I did hear that you had someone pick up leaves for the entire afternoon. Who offended you?"
"Wei Zheng, the third son of the Xuanping Earl family, has come to curry favor with me."
Xie Mingshuo sat up straight immediately: "To please you? What does he want to do?"
"I don't know," Xie Mingzhuo urged, "Why don't you try to find out indirectly?"
"How could you not know?" Xie Mingshuo knew his sister too well. "If you have no interest in people and won't even pay attention to them, why would you ask them to pick up leaves?"
Xie Mingzhuo deliberately played the victim: "It's just a guess. Since I have no evidence, I can only keep him by my side for observation. I've specially allowed him to accompany me on the hunt tomorrow."
"No, he's a very attractive guy. If he keeps you company, it'll ruin your reputation. How about this, I'll ask him to accompany me tomorrow."
"Thank you, second brother."
Xie Mingshuo reacted and tried to grab her memorial: "Okay, wait for me here."
"What are you waiting for?" Xie Changfeng's voice was like a bell, coming from outside, with Meng Qi and Xie Mingxuan following behind him.
It was almost dinner time and all three of them came back on time.
After the palace servants served the meal and left the hall, Xie Mingshuo told them about Wei Zheng and finally said with disdain, "That pretty boy still wants to covet my Tiezhu."
Xie Changfeng didn't know this man well, so he just warned him, "Those guys out there are all harboring evil intentions. Shao Shao, don't be fooled."
"It's not just me," Xie Mingzhuo said shockingly, "If there's a beauty trap for men, there's a beauty trap for women. Dad, big brother, and second brother, you all have to be careful."
The princess in power is certainly worth deceiving, but the emperor with real power and the two potential heirs are certainly more worthy of using means.
Xie Changfeng hurriedly shook his head and waved his hands: "No, my wife is here, no one dares to get close."
However, not long after he finished speaking, when he was bathing at night, a beautiful girl dressed as a palace maid sneaked into the bathroom, scaring him so much that he screamed.
When Xie Mingzhuo and his two siblings arrived, he was holding Meng Qi and crying bitterly, repeatedly assuring his innocence.
Meng Qi was both angry and amused, and coaxed him for a long time.
The two brothers looked at each other and felt a chill down their spines at the same time.
The temporary palace is too dangerous, so they want to return to the palace.
The "palace maid" was taken away on the charge of being an assassin. After interrogation, it was learned that she was a maid who had just entered the palace. This time she had the honor to accompany the emperor out of the palace. She had the ambition to climb onto the dragon bed, so she bribed the eunuchs in the palace.
The palace is idle for most of the year, but some palace servants are still left here to do odd jobs such as cleaning.
If these palace ladies don't have any chance, they will stay here all their lives, living a mediocre life.
The maid promised the eunuch that if she gained the emperor's favor, she would ask the emperor to transfer him back to the palace to serve the emperor and his concubines closely.
Xie Mingshuo felt that his IQ was insulted.
When they came to the palace, they brought a lot of close eunuchs with them. My father always let Wu Shanqing and the personal guards watch over him when he took a bath. How did a eunuch who was just cleaning the palace get someone to sneak into the bathroom?
The person who interrogated the palace maid was Yang Yunkai, and he hesitated to speak when he heard this question.
Xie Mingzhuo said, "I forgive you for your innocence, but you can speak freely."
"During the reign of Emperor Jinghong, several secret doors were built in the imperial palace's bathhouses for... pleasure."
Five people: “…”
"Seal them all, seal them all!" Xie Changfeng still felt aggrieved and became angry when he mentioned the bathroom.
Yang Yunkai took the order and withdrew.
"It's very common for palace maids to climb onto the bed," Xie Mingshuo said calmly, analyzing the situation. "If Tiezhu hadn't warned us earlier, we might have been fooled."
Meng Qi asked in a deep voice, "Who's behind this?"
"I don't know for now." Xie Mingzhuo had just finished showering and his hair was still wet. She wiped it a few times and threw away the towel.
Meng Qi pushed Xie Changfeng down, sat behind her and wiped her carefully.
"It's so cold, you need to dry your hair before going to bed to avoid a migraine later."
Xie Mingzhuo agreed obediently.
"Wei Zheng might be a breakthrough point. I plan to keep him under observation for a few days."
Xie Mingshuo said readily: "Okay, we'll cooperate with you."
"Don't even think about cooperating with me. There are so many families in the capital who are eyeing you and your elder brother's position as princesses. Tomorrow you will have more romantic interests than me."
Xie Mingxuan shuddered and said, "I'm not going."
Even if he traveled back to ancient times, he would still be a bachelor.
Xie Mingshuo clapped his hands and said, "That's easy. I'll help you stop the peach blossoms, and you help me stop the peach blossoms. How about that?"
"That's a good idea."
The brother and sister huddled together and whispered.
The next morning, the emperor personally came to the hunting ground and announced the official start of the hunt.
According to convention, the top three hunters would receive rewards from the emperor, so every time there was a hunt, the sons of nobles would put in their best efforts to try to be the first.
The gentlemen were responsible for the fierce competition, and the ladies participated in the hunt but did not participate in the ranking. Therefore, over time, there were fewer ladies participating in the hunt, and more of them were cheering for the gentlemen.
But this time is different.
Wu Shanqing read out the imperial decree: "Men and women alike, all may enter the hunting grounds. All prey taken will be counted towards the rankings, and the top five will receive a generous reward. Furthermore, men and women will be divided into two mixed teams. If the team wins in total, everyone on the team will receive a reward."
The noble men and ladies were in an uproar. Now everyone forgot their parents' earnest instructions. Forget about attracting the attention of the prince and princess. The emperor's reward was the most important thing.
A divine decree aroused everyone's desire to win.
There are only a few people who are good at riding and shooting, and the list of winners is the same every year, so most people are not interested.
But this year there is a team competition, and as long as the team wins, they can get rewards.
Anyone who doesn’t take advantage of this is a fool!
Everyone was eager to try and lined up to draw numbers. Those who drew odd numbers stood together, and those who drew even numbers formed a team.
The total number of gentlemen and ladies accompanying this trip is an odd number, so there will always be one team missing one person.
Xie Mingzhuo strode forward and took Jiang Qing to join the team with fewer people, while Xie Mingshuo went to the other team.
Xie Changfeng's eyes were filled with kindness. "Rong An and Prince Jin will each lead a team. Do you have any objections?"
Everyone agreed, except Wei Zheng.
He was assigned to the Jinwang team!
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